Before I say anything else about this book, I’m going to mention that I absolutely loved it! It was one of those books that I couldn’t put down and I would highly recommend it: it’s sad, funny, moving, mysterious.
Florence is 84 and has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Court home for the elderly. As she waits for someone to find her and fetch help, her mind wanders over the events of the past few months, prompted by the arrival of a man she thought had died in the 1950s. With the help of her childhood best friend Elsie, and a new friend from the care home, Jack, she has tracked down exactly what happened all those years ago. However, when your memory is not what it used to be, and you’re on probation for a move to another home, this is not an easy task. Their investigations take them all the way to Whitby, but it is in Florence’s own mind that the truth really lies.
I loved so many things about this story. The sections with Florence waiting for help after her fall were so sad, and reminded me of Alan Bennett’s A Cream Cracker Under the Settee. I also really liked the mystery element of the story, and the way that Jack and Florence don’t let their age hold them back from investigating who Gabriel Price really is. The section set in Whitby was fantastic as well: I love Whitby and have visited several times, and Cannon really brought the seaside town to life in the pages of this book. It doesn’t really matter that I’d worked out the third thing about Elsie early on in the novel; it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.
The real strength of this book though was the character development. The characters come to life on the page, showing the reader lots about the nature of aging and giving a real insight into each person’s motivations. A brilliant story, one I would strongly recommend.
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